News

ACS is urging retailers to be prepared for the implementation of the tobacco display ban.

In April 2015, stores under 3000 sq ft will have to cover their tobacco displays. Larger stores have been subject to the display ban legislation since 2012.

When the display rule comes in, smokers will continue to be able to buy their cigarettes and tobacco exactly as they do now, and the new rules will not limit availability.

Two alcohol policy issues close to ACS’ heart are duty fraud and licensing law, and I think these are more closely linked than you might think.  Once in a while, we hear that alcohol harm is linked to the growth in the number of off licences, with responsible and irresponsible retailers lumped in together when their impact on the areas where they trade could not be more different.

The national Great British High Street competition, launched by the Future High Street Forum, celebrates the achievements of local people in making their high streets great places to live, work and shop.

The winners were selected across a range of categories for their ability to innovate, collaborate and adapt to changing consumer habits.

Judges visited 21 shortlisted areas and the winners are:

Today (6^th November), ACS took part in the Small Business Saturday UK Launch Event in Wales. Small Business Saturday is a day to celebrate all of the fantastic small businesses in the UK and encourages communities to support them in the run up to Christmas and in future.

The event was held in the National Assembly for Wales, with Janet Finch-Saunders AM, chair of the Cross Party Group on Small Shops; Shane Brennan, ACS Public Affairs Director; and Michelle Oven, National Campaign Director at Small Business Saturday UK speaking to a room full of small business owners.

Local shops have welcomed the announcement from the Competition Markets Authority to conduct a full market investigation into lending to the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) market.  The investigation will look specifically at lending to SMEs and core products such as business current accounts.

ACS Chief Executive James Lowman said: “We welcome the CMA decision to investigate SME lending. Access to finance and fair bank charges are key to ensuring that local shops can grow and create more jobs in their communities.

ACS has responded to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills’ (BIS) consultation on how to prevent avoidance of the exclusivity clause ban in zero-hours contracts.

The government’s Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill recently introduced a provision to ban the use of exclusivity clauses. An exclusivity clause in a zero hours contract is when the employer prevents the individual from working for someone else, even though they themselves do not guarantee any hours of work.

GroceryAid provides a confidential Helpline which is available 24/7 to assist callers across a wide range of subjects, from financial to personal issues. For people who prefer not to call in, there is a web-based range of self-help tools and advice, including online chat.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has confirmed the appointment of Paul Hagon and Patrick Sewell as chairman and deputy chairman respectively.

Paul and Patrick will take on leadership roles on the ACS Management Board from 1 November 2014, replacing current chairman Jonathan James and Vice Chairman Neil Turton who have been in post since November 2011.

Paul Hagon is the Group Strategy and Development Director for Palmer and Harvey. P&H is one of the biggest delivered wholesale providers in the UK, serving multiple, convenience, forecourt and CTN stores.

ACS has published three new guides that form the latest additions to its Assured Advice scheme for convenience retailers. The new Guides provide definitive advice on Weights and Measures, Product Safety and Fair Trading.

ACS Assured Advice is an innovative new scheme that allows ACS to provide advice on trading standards regulation that is definitive and cannot be challenged or changed from on local authority to the next.

The Guides include:

ACS’ annual political conference, Heart of the Community, took place in Westminster, London on 21^st October. The event, chaired by journalist Daisy McAndrew, gave over 100 convenience store retailers the chance to hear how politics affects their businesses and provided a platform for them to speak directly to MPs about day-to-day issues.